Composting Our Karma

Engaging teachings on the core Korean Zen practice  of “don’t-know mind” that encourage us to cultivate and apply a clear mind, improve our intuition, feel naturally at ease, and generate compassionate wisdom to face whatever arises.

​​Barbara Rhodes (Zen Master Soeng Hyang) offers the core Korean Zen teaching of don’t-know mind as an antidote to the over-thinking, overly stimulating modern world that is the cause of so much suffering. In this collection of essays, Rhodes shows us that there are ways we can work with, or “compost,” whatever we’ve got in front of us, digest it into energy that can get us through the rough times, and cultivate a satisfying life.
      “Don’t-know mind,” Korean Zen’s foremost teaching, points to our clear enlightened mind before suffering arises based on concepts and judgments of like and dislike. While simple, it is a lifelong exercise, with immediate benefits that get deeper with practice. By applying don’t-know mind to meditation, everyday existence, and life’s challenges, readers will learn to work with their own mind’s reactions to things; trust their intuition; perceive situations clearly; and act with natural courage, compassion, and enthusiasm.
     Rhodes offers fascinating insights from her professional life as a nurse; her commitment to engaged Buddhism; her life experience as a member of the LGBTQ community; her use of psychedelics on her spiritual path; and more. Readers will appreciate her down-to-earth wisdom, compassion, enthusiasm, and faith in the power of this practice.
     This book includes an afterword by Dae Bong Sunim, a guiding teacher at Musangsa Monastery in Korea.“You know about the importance of paying attention to the present moment, the only moment there is. But what do you do with that knowledge? Barbara Rhodes shows you how to embody and manifest the question, ‘What is this?’ You become fascinated and engaged with the ordinary, and when you are confronted with deep perplexity, amazement, or terror, your innate wisdom will pour forth. Follow her instructions here.”
—Polly Young-Eisendrath, author of The Present Heart

“Barbara Rhodes has lived a life dedicated to service, whether to her Zen students, her hospice patients, or her young tomato plants. This book shines with the wisdom and compassion of Buddhism and the teaching of Zen Master Seung Sahn, who brought ‘don’t-know mind’ to and the world.”
—Stephen Mitchell, author and translator

“In Composting Our Karma, Zen Master Barbara Rhodes reveals her warm, generous and inspirational teaching style. This book is a roadmap, illuminating the path of Zen. Put these teachings into actual practice in your life and you will taste the fruits of this Zen path.”
—Jeff Kitzes, Empty Gate Zen Center

“The author’s refreshingly playful outlook produces many approachable and charming bits of wisdom. . . . Spiritual seekers looking to refresh their practice will be energized.”
—Publishers Weekly ZEN MASTER SOENG HYANG (Barbara Rhodes) is the School Zen Master of the Kwan Um School of Zen and a retired hospice nurse. One of Zen Master Seung Sahn’s first American students, she received dharma transmission from him in 1992. Rhodes helped found Providence Zen Center and lived there for seventeen years, serving in a number of administrative capacities. She has a daughter and lives with her partner, Mary, in California.